


The Nacreous Revolution

by PearlDefiance



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pre-Canon, F/F, Homeworld (Steven Universe), Homeworld is Horrible, Pearl Oppression, Pearl Solidarity (Steven Universe), Pearls x Revolution Slow Burn, Post-Gem War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:13:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21948637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PearlDefiance/pseuds/PearlDefiance
Summary: The Gem War is over, many centuries past. Earth—the Nightmare Planet—is nothing but an awful rumor for most Homeworld Gems, but the resource crisis is very real. On one distant outpost, Pearls deemed "defective" face constant danger under hard labor conditions. But even the most compliant Pearl is not quite an empty vessel, and not all the stories of Earth are fearful. After a hundred years in storage, Red Pearl makes discoveries that put her and her sisters on a path only one other has followed before.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 19





	The Nacreous Revolution

**Author's Note:**

> Y'know what, *I* don't even know how to trigger tag this one ... ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> Intense pearl oppression  
> General authoritarianism  
> Pearls as a metaphor for emotional, psychological, and workplace abuse  
> Internalized self-loathing and reflexive (not quite *instinctive*) obedience  
> Objectification, self-abnegation  
> Physical coercion, but limited on-screen violence (some destabilizer use)  
> Limited descriptions of violence and no sexual content
> 
> Those who arrived from my other works, please be advised that this one will be OC-heavy and that this is a dark place to go to. 
> 
> But there is hope. ^.^

“While there is a lower class, I am in it; and while there is a criminal element, I am of it; and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free.” – Eugene V. Debs

“Can you imagine what I would do if I could do all I can?” – Sun Tzu

***

_Ugly, snub-nosed pearl_.

She had heard it all before.

_Too bright. Too loud._

Masters came and went in this place, leaving her behind – leaving them _all_ behind – with the smallest quirk of fate. Yet she looked at each new one with awe. Their strength! Their beauty! In their faces, she saw the same truth again and again: That she would never be right.

Would never meet expectations.

_Would never be a proper pearl_.

And that was what occupied her thoughts – day after day and night after night.

_I’ll never be a proper pearl. No matter what I do, I’ll never be right._

Until the day a Morganite commodore and her retinue stopped on Zhema.

There was a banquet. Of course: There was always a banquet, food from the four facets of the Empire and the time to savor every bite. There was no greater luxury, no greater frivolity, and a leader was no leader unless she could obtain it. Even here, on the furthest edge of Gem space.

Red Pearl had been chosen to serve them – the greatest honor she could remember or hope for.

_That makes me Azurite’s pearl_ , she told herself. _That means I might be good enough after all._

She was bringing out a roast for the commodore. Each had their own, her and Proconsul Azurite.

And then Red heard _it_.

“There are worse things than the Diamonds in space.”

The commodore had said it without a hint of shame.

Red Pearl stopped short, dropped the platter—

Her whole mind numb, not even hearing the shouts, the insults.

_Not even fit to be a Ruby’s step-stool. A disgrace. A failure_.

As a _joke_ they had made her wear the uniform of a regiment officer while she waited on their every whim. That was Azurite’s undoing: Failing to give the Yellow Court’s armies the respect they deserved, and in the end, demanded.

In any case, an Azurite should never have been allowed to lead a colony. Not even Zhema.

_Zhema was useless. Like her. Like all her hundred defective sisters banished to this place._

Red Pearl had been punished for following that order—

From that day to this, she had waited in this dark cell.

But all along, all she could think of was:

_There are worse things than the Diamonds in space_.

It was the first thing that had ever focused her – that shoved aside thoughts of her cruel flaws.

_There are worse things than the Diamonds in space_.

Days went by, weeks, months—

She sat and wondered if she would ever serve again.

There was a sublime joy in serving. Nothing else could replace it.

_Everything is easier when you just obey_ , she thought, like a whisper deep in her gem.

_There are worse things than the Diamonds in space_ , came the answer inside of her.

No matter how you thought or said it, that single sentence was ... disobedient.

It wasn’t ... right.

And she couldn’t quite put into words why.

She gazed down at her hands, flexed her fingers. Soft and slender, clever and quick.

The only part of her that was _good_.

_Too bright. Too loud. Ugly, ugly, ugly_.

She tried again:

_There are worse things than the Diamonds in space_.

It burned a little, this time. It hurt in a way it shouldn’t.

Words could hurt, but not hers. Her words didn’t mean anything. She was just a pearl.

She tried it the other way:

_There are better things than the Diamonds in space_.

But that wasn’t right either.

She cleared her throat as softly as she could, as loudly as she dared.

“There are worse—”

Tears pricked her eyes.

With a deep, shuddering breath, she tried again.

“There. Are. Worse ...”

It ended in a rasp, her slender throat closing tight.

_I’ll never be right_ , she thought. _I’ll always be a shameful mess_.

She tried a third time, her lips struggling around each word.

“There. Are. _Better_ ...”

She pressed her back and shoulders into the cold steel wall of her cell and let her fingers knead her temples. _No one will hear_ , she told herself. A shiver ran through her; it felt like she couldn’t breathe anymore. Something was pressing the air out of her superfluous lungs.

She didn’t need them. Didn’t need any organs, anymore. But what if she was told to sing?

What if she was told and she wasn’t ready? Would she ever sing again? She ached to obey.

She would have given anything. But, of course, she had nothing to give. She was just a pearl.

“There are worse ...”

Now her precious hand clenched into a fist.

The other arm fell across her midsection as if she could brace herself with her own strength. The thought that she would never serve again was the worst she’d ever had; worst of all the thoughts that haunted her except for one other. And now, perversely, she was drawn back to that one.

“There are worse things ... than the _Diamonds_ ... in _space_.”

And that was all: She collapsed. The tears ran freely now.

But something had changed.

Something ...

***

Red Pearl still couldn’t say _what_ had changed by the time the Quartz guards came for her.

“How long’s _this_ one been in here?”

Her instincts awoke: Palms and feet together, head down, she waited—

Not even flinching when the door creaked out and light spilled over her.

The Quartzes were massive, far too big to squeeze through the narrow door. One reached in and took her in a huge hand, meaty palm resting all too close to her gem. She should have stayed slack, she knew – but a pulse of tension straightened her from head to toe.

“Eugh. She’s so ... _last_ _season_ ,” said the Quartz who yanked her into the hall.

“Last season? More like last _century_ ,” said the other.

“Must be left over from Azurite like half the other trash lying around in here.”

Red Pearl was dropped unceremoniously to the floor. As her eyes adjusted to the unfamiliar light, she caught a glimpse of the two soldiers peering down at her. Measuring her. Deciding.

What did they see – or _not_ see? She didn’t dare wonder; just pressed her palms and chin to the slush-caked floor and made herself tiny as she could. One of the soldiers let out a put-upon sigh.

“Hey, you!” she barked. “Can you understand us, clod?”

Red tried to work her mouth, but no sound would come out.

“I said—”

“Yes, ma’am!” she squeaked, so afraid she didn’t even wait. “I-I understand you.”

“Good. What’s your designation?”

Red looked up at them as if she had just been asked to _solve for x_.

“I’m sorry, ma’am, I ...”

“Didn’t you just _say_ you understand me? Don’t lie to me again, little pearl.”

“No, ma’am! I’m so sorry, ma’am!”

With faux patience, the Quartz tried again.

“What. Are you. Called?”

“R-Red Pearl, ma’am!”

“ _R-Red Pearl_ ,” the Quartz mocked, earning a snicker from her comrade. “Come with us.”

“Y—”

It ended in a yelp as Red was fetched to her feet and dragged through the corridors by the forearm. There was barely enough time to glance left and right – to see the cells on both sides of the hallway were empty. _Long abandoned_ , she realized. _Just like me_.

With every turn they took, the air got colder and colder—

It was a little-known fact that Gems could freeze to death. On Zhema, even the pearls had been briefed: A frozen Gem’s form dissolved a little at a time and the exposed gemstone fell inert in the snow. It started in minutes, but it was long and slow. The pain was said to be _excruciating_.

It was never far from their thoughts, especially when the heaters started to rattle.

_Nowhere else in the Diamond Authority burns carbon for heat_ , ran the briefing. _Just this dump_.

They were at the main exit now. The winter wind roaring beneath the gigantic hatch was strong as a blast furnace. It should have been sealed tight, but the bottom edge was warped and corroded, long in need of repair. Red Pearl stepped back from it.

One of the Quartz troopers reached up to a cubbyhole beside the door and started to paw around.

_Even if they hadn’t been briefed, the pearls knew about freezing_.

In a few moments, she pulled down a big bundle of winterized cloth.

_Every month, some were sent out into the snow to shovel the roads clear_.

“Put this on,” she said, thrusting it out with such force Red nearly fell.

_Every month, a few less came back_.

Red shrugged into the awkward, bulky coat as fast as she could. It dwarfed her, covering her from neck to knees and hiding any hint of the gauzy dancing costume her form regenerated with.

She stretched out her arms to the sides and the Quartzes snickered again.

“Here,” said the soldier, and tugged the fur-lined hood over Red’s head. “Good, _that_ should do it.” Her rough knuckles rubbed against Red’s gemstone-cheek as she adjusted the hood. For a moment, they were eye to eye. “A snub-nosed pearl ... what garbage.”

“Come on,” said the other one. “Time’s wasting.”

The snow and ice crunched beneath the Quartzes’ boots, but for Red Pearl, the drifts were almost waist high. Everywhere she looked, buildings – other holding areas, yes, but armories and supply depots and other things she had no name for – sat idle, as if left for the ice to reclaim.

“Get moving, you! Keep up or we’ll leave you!”

Red Pearl moved as fast as she could through the snow, but every step sent her staggering on the brink of a fall. The cold was intense: It wouldn’t be fatal, but even now she could feel it creeping into her gem. She tried to _swim_ forward with her arms, but she could barely bend them.

“Get her,” one Quartz said to the other—

But they didn’t have time before a great white spaceship cast its shadow over everything.

“Hail Interim Director Andesine! _SALUTE!_ ” they bellowed.

At once, the whole earth shook beneath the tread of Quartz soldiers all over the station snapping to attention. To Red Pearl, it sounded like all the ice and snow would be crushed under their feet.

One Quartz took up the Diamond salute—

“BOW YOUR HEAD!” roared the nearer one—

And before Red could think twice, the Quartz swatted her to the ground.

There, with her nose in the snow, Red Pearl waited ... and waited ... as the ship vanished out into space and was replaced by the looming form of one even bigger. She didn’t even glimpse it, but she heard and _felt_ the Quartzes all snap a smart response.

“Hail Proconsul Emerald! _SALUTE!_ ”

Red Pearl was feeling a deepening ache of cold in her gem when the Quartz soldiers snatched her off the ground. One held her arms while the other patted some snow off her coat before hustling her into the back of a cramped vehicle. She was left alone as the Quartzes piled in front.

_Why?_

“Did – did you _say_ something?”

Red Pearl and the passenger-Quartz looked at each other, equally confused. _Had she?_

It wouldn’t be right, it wouldn’t be right at all, to have private thoughts all to herself.

So she spoke: “Yes, ma’am. W-why ... why ... why are you ...” She settled on: “ _Protecting_ me?”

“Nevermind why,” the Quartz grunted, and turned to face front as the vehicle accelerated. It was an old, shoddy thing – it had _wheels_ , for Diamonds’ sake! – and it made a weird, metallic sneer as it thudded across the uneven, ice-slick roads. “Just don’t piss me off.”

_Still_ , Red Pearl saw no one else around, and it slowly dawned on her what was going to happen.

_They’re going to leave me here to die, to freeze to death where nobody will ever find me_.

The truck took a hard corner and Red Pearl rattled to the side, unresisting.

It took a moment, but the fear passed and a tiny, vacant smile took its place.

If that was going to happen, she would have to obey.

She would show them just how _well_ she could do it—

No matter _what_ they asked for, she wouldn’t even flinch.

How long had it _been_ since she was told to do anything?

_Too long_ , she thought, letting her head loll to the side.

“Hey, did you do it _again?_ Nines, this ugly pearl _creaks_ just like this old hunk of junk.”

“Tell her to shut it, Sixer,” said Nines, leaning in the driver’s seat. “I’m _trying_ to concentrate.”

Nines reached over to the control panel and turned a knob—

Instantly, there arose a sound: A nice, calm, orderly _tone_.

“Here. Even a defective pearl can appreciate a good _tone_.”

And it was true: There was something indescribably soothing about the right tone, something that made Red all the less fearful of shattering and all the more pleased to be doing something _right_. All she had to do was sit quietly and everything made sense at long last.

She folded her hands as elegantly as she could on her lap, and that made it feel better.

The Quartzes, too, relaxed. Their muscles slackened a little.

“Good tone,” said Sixer.

“S’not bad,” murmured Nines.

“You can feel it right _here_ ...” The Quartz lightly clapped the gem embedded in her collarbone.

Red Pearl was sinking into a muzzy, mindless stupor when the _tone_ was replaced by a horrible mechanical wailing so intense that Nines slammed the brakes. It was a _miracle_ they hadn’t gone off the road; as soon as they were stopped, Sixer turned the radio off.

“Must be trouble with the main antenna,” Nines grumbled. “Again.”

“We’re still _miles_ out from Central and I’m bored. What’ll we do?”

Nines glanced around until her gaze settled on the groggy pearl—

Slowly, her mouth twisted into a grin filled with razor-sharp teeth.

“So? Let’s have the little songbird _perform_ for us,” she said.

***

Before it could be anything else, a Gem’s life was about light.

Light was _first_ – the one and only way everyone was equal.

After that: _Sound_.

A Gem didn’t need ears to hear, didn’t need any imitation of organic anatomy at all. Each could hear from the moment the first spark came alive in her innermost being: Even inert, in the misty depths of regeneration, they could hear. Sound was vibration, and so were they.

All pearls knew: The right song could touch someone untouchable.

More than anything else, that’s what a proper pearl was _for_.

They made Red Pearl sing, sing until her throat was raw—

She tried again and again – every aria Proconsul Azurite had favored, every song she’d hummed over and over to herself for a hundred years. But the Quartzes didn’t like any of it: They’d jostle her sides to shut her up, or take the next curve so hard she would scream—

They couldn’t get what they wanted from her, so they took this, instead.

Still, she tried and tried and _tried_ until tears streamed over her smile.

And then she remembered: The song she’d learned for Morganite.

_She’d never gotten to sing it_ , and that made her bow her head in shame.

Sixer had just reeled back, inches from punching her hard across the gem—

But that little gesture was strange and new. It made the Quartz stop short.

When Red Pearl started again, her voice rattled in the back of her blood-raw throat and she thought it wouldn’t hold up. But slowly, slowly, it all came back to her: Songs of war and glory, bravery and battle, power and honor, any part of which she could barely begin to imagine.

She didn’t know what it was like, _couldn’t_ know, so she made her little voice tear into every word with all the strength she had.

She sang of the glittering fleets out in the Deep Dark and the foggy battlefields of Earth—

She sang of Jaspers who burst alive with weapon in hand and fight blazing in their gem—

She sang last of comrades and coming home; of heroes who were buried, not just recycled.

She had barely pushed the last word out when her voice failed her and she pitched forward. Her forehead struck the back of the driver’s seat hard, but she didn’t feel anything except the claws of pain inside her, red as her own skin, and the numbness that always followed silence.

Nines let out a grim sigh, blowing it between too-sharp teeth.

“That’ll do, pearl,” she said.

“Yes-ma’am-thank-you-ma’am,” Red Pearl answered in the clipped cadence of terrified relief.

She sank into the darkness behind her eyelids and couldn’t think any more.

***

Red Pearl was barely conscious when they seized her by both arms and dragged her through the main corridor of Central Complex, letting her knees drag in an approximation of the kneeling posture all good pearls could hold for hours. They didn’t rouse her; they merely dropped her.

It was a kindness. In a half-aware daze, her mind burbled _thank-you-thank-you-thank-you_.

They had freed her, hadn’t they? And they hadn’t hurt her too badly—

_Her life meant nothing and they had spared her. Wasn’t that enough?_

“Yes-ma’am-yes-ma’am-yes-yes-yes,” she whispered until her voice started to respond again.

As sensations swam back into her mind, a single instinctive thought jabbed her:

_Don’t just lie there! Be useful to somebody!_

_Useful, useful, useful_ – that jogged her awake.

Though her limbs would barely move, she could feel the word running up and down her form, an electrical tingling that made her think of destabilizers. If someone found her here, like this, it’d certainly be her fate to stay right where she was.

_They’d run a current through her until the power cells ran dry_ —

With the wall at her back, she hoisted herself halfway up. Gems were passing by on moving walkways only a few steps away, but they barely glanced at her. She should have known each type and rank; should’ve known where each one stood, just like all Gems _always_ did.

But they were only a swirl of colors all melted together, and she was just a pearl.

_What difference did rank make to her? She knew where she belonged_.

If she could just take one step forward—

She crumpled forward on her knees again, just as she had in the snow—

And stayed just like that, until—

A handsome face suddenly took up her whole world.

She squinted on moving lips and the sound she knew should be there—

“Red? Is that really _you?_ ”

The other Gem was at eye level, just inches away before she realized—

“Grey?” croaked Red Pearl, new tears springing to her eyes. “How—?”

“Shh,” said Grey Pearl. “It’s all right now, kid. Come on, I’ll help you.”

Grey wrapped an arm around Red and hoisted her up all but alone. As soon as Red’s feet were under her, her limp form collapsed into the elder pearl’s arms – half-bracing and half- _embracing_ , as pearls had done when no one saw since time before time.

Red was bent with only Grey to keep her from falling, her mouth by the elder’s ear. “Please,” she whispered, and Grey turned to her. “Don’t let them see me like this. Don’t let them think I’m _useless_ , boss!”

“Oh, kid,” Grey murmured, nibbling her lower lip. “You _know_ you can just call m—nevermind.” With a reassuring hand on Red’s shoulder, Grey Pearl looked right and left. The crowd was thinning, and no one paid them the least attention.

“It hurts,” Red said, her voice detached and idle now. “It really hurts, boss. I’m sorry—”

Putting the _other_ hand on Red’s opposite shoulder ever so briefly, Grey Pearl leaned in close and waited for the younger’s eyes to focus on her. Yes: Vision was returning, just enough to see that worried pivot of Grey’s green-grey gaze as she checked out Red’s gem.

_I’m-so-sorry-it-hurts-so-much_ , Red was still trying to say, the thoughts running together.

“Listen to me,” said Grey, giving her a little shake. “You’re useful to _me_ , and I’m useful to them. I won’t abandon you, kid. I promise.” Stepping around the _other_ side of Red, she started to gently steer the dazed pearl through the halls. “Oh, Red, I thought you were _gone_.”

“Not gone,” Red Pearl reported. “Lost. They lost me. They _forgot_ about me, Grey.”

Behind her, Grey Pearl gave one shoulder a squeeze.

“I didn’t.”

Red couldn’t keep track of where they were going, so she didn’t even try. Whether everything was the same or everything had changed didn’t seem to matter. It wouldn’t change anything for _her_. All that mattered was that Grey was there. Of course she was. How could she not be?

_Boss is always right_ , Red told herself, and her little smile drifted back to the surface.

_It’s gonna be okay_ , Grey was saying in her ear, over and over and over again—

“Yeah,” said Red. “You know best, boss. You’re always right ... I can trust you.”

When she glanced back, Grey’s smile was strained; but that sight didn’t last long. The elder started to hum an old, familiar tune that left Red, at last, able to think one thought at a time. Before she knew it, she was humming back almost in harmony.

They came, at last, to an empty side-room: A storage depot or a workshop.

The lights were harsh and antiseptic and bright—

But no one was around, and Grey had a satisfied look. They went inside.

“There’s a good pearl,” she cooed to Red “You just stand right there.”

“Yes, boss.”

Grey lingered a moment, deciding – one fist cupping her chin – and returned a steadying hand to Red’s back for a few seconds more before she disappeared to the side of the room to grab supplies. She laid them out in a clattering heap on a nearby workbench.

In short order, the elder stripped the soaked outer coat away from Red, leaving the clothing of her form. Then, she started patting her dry a bit at a time with a fluffy towel. The feel of something soft was alien to Red now, but not unpleasant. She dared to lean into it.

“There we go. That’s a start. You’re all stiff, kid. Limber up just a little. Yeah, that’s proper.”

Grey Pearl was moving too fast to follow, darting here and there. Red felt herself relax more and more, snatches of Grey’s familiar humming soothing her tender nerves. She tried not to wonder what was going on behind her. All she had to know was that someone was _in charge_.

After all, she’d been told to _stand_ , not to _turn_.

“Are you listening to me, kid? Can you hear okay?”

“Yes, ma’am,” said Red Pearl, nodding a bit.

“It’s been a while. Do you know how long?”

“No, ma’am.”

“There’s been some changes.”

“What do you mean, ma’am?”

“Director Andesine led this outpost for more than a century.”

Red knew this information should mean something to her—

The idea wandered her mind fitfully, seeking a connection.

“She ... she must have been very smart,” Red said slowly.

She gave a hopeful smile, one yearning for any sign of approval.

“Red ... listen carefully. You’ve been in storage for one hundred years. Azurite is long gone.”

There was a _mirror_ on the wall ahead of her, Red realized. She gave herself a long, slow blink.

“I’m sorry,” she tried.

“No ...” Grey Pearl said, sighing.

The silence afterwards stretched on long enough that Red felt panic bubble up inside her again. Had she said something _wrong?_ Would asking what it was make it _worse?_ Grey must have known, must have felt her shoulders go stiff as she buffed her with the towel.

At long last, Grey stepped in front of her. For a long time, they just looked at each other.

If Red Pearl could remember anything at all, it was the face of Grey Pearl. Grey, who had always been there and always would be and was always right. Grey, who everyone knew as _Hematite’s pearl_ , or _the founder’s_ _pearl_ , or just _the boss_. Pale and warm, like marble, and beautiful as ever. Even _more_ so with the short hair she’d taken after no elites cared to gaze at her any longer.

But more than anything, more than all that—

What Red remembered best about her was that she looked kind.

_And that hadn’t changed at all_.

Red put her palms together and raised her chin, the picture of passive anticipation.

“Things have gotten touchy since you were away,” said Grey, and started to pace back and forth, back and forth across Red’s unflinching line of sight. “No matter what you do, you’re not to speak of Azurite or Hematite or any of the others. Not even if someone asks. Understand?”

“Yes, ma’am,” said Red Pearl – though her voice betrayed that she didn’t understand at all.

“Good,” said Grey, halting briefly to look sideways at her. “Resources are scarce all over the empire. Folks _say_ there might come a time when there are no new Gems anymore. But, for us – for now – it’s meant no more shattering. Director Andesine made that a rule. She left today, see.”

Red Pearl nodded woodenly, trying to piece it all together—

“But look ... look ...” Grey raised a finger for emphasis, and Red obediently followed it with her eyes. “Nobody _just_ sings anymore. Nobody _just_ dances, either. You’ve gotta be able to do more around here. Mining. Repair projects. Anything to make yourself useful.”

_I can sing_ , Red wanted to say.

She actually said: “I’ll do anything you tell me to do, ma’am.”.

“Did anyone ever show you how to do anything else?”

_I can sing_ , Red wanted to say.

She actually said: “No, ma’am. Never. But I ... I can be useful ...”

She stood only three feet away, but when Grey Pearl reached out into the space between them, it seemed to take an eternity. Red froze, rooted to the spot; the glint of light off Grey’s gem, slotted so neatly into the back of her left hand, burned like a beacon in her tired mind.

Grey gently traced her deft fingers over Red’s cheek; touched the sensitive skin around her gem.

Let her hand fall – and let Red slip her _own_ into it, so she felt the alternating warmth and cool and smoothness and softness around her old mentor’s gem. For a few seconds, they were the same: Equals. Alone together, part of something only pearls could ever be part of.

“I’ll help you however I can. But you have to listen to everything I say and do your best. Okay?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Red let Grey’s fingers slip slowly through her own until her hand dropped to her side.

None of it made sense—

Well. One thing still did:

_Boss has always been here, and boss is always right_.

“I know it hurts, but here’s what matters,” Grey started.

Letting the rest fade away, Red focused all her attention.

“You’re back safe and sound, aren’t you?” Grey asked.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“And that means you can be useful again?” Grey asked.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“So, you’re ready to be a good pearl today?” Grey asked.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Good,” Grey said with a firm nod. It was a game, one they both knew but couldn’t help but play. The calming cadence of soft, simple questions: A way to shine some light when the world was too dark for pearls. If anyone thought it was demeaning, they still couldn’t do without it.

Grey pulled a rag from inside her heavy apron, walked over to a faucet on the far wall to wet it.

“There’s always room for a good pearl,” Red said, peering at her own unfamiliar reflection as she said so. “One who serves quickly and obeys quietly and always, always does her best.”

“Yeah ...” Kneeling, Grey rang the rag out into the floor-drain. When she was done, her smile was waxy; there was something ashen in her eyes Red didn’t know a word for. But all she said was: “Let’s get you all polished up, precious. Then, we’ll find something for you to do.”

“Yes, ma’am,” said Red, raising her chin to expose her gem.

As Grey began to gently rub at it, Red thought of something—

“Grey?”

“Yes, kid?”

“Are ... are they still mad about the roast?”

Grey stopped a tick, pursed her lips tight—

“No, kid. They’re not.”

“Oh ... that’s good. I hope the commodore forgives me.”

“I’m sure she does. Rest your voice now,” Grey told her, and rubbed and rubbed and _rubbed_.

In a while, the younger pearl couldn’t stay on her feet anymore, and Grey helped her ease into a tattered leather chair, leaving her to gaze up at the ceiling and be still. Her bones were slack and her gem seemed to hum; it was the safest she had felt in a hundred years.

Grey brushed her hair after that, and didn’t quit ‘til she recognized _Azurite’s pearl_ in the mirror.

For the first time, Red Pearl thought things might just turn out okay, after all.

***

The night sky on Zhema was a foreboding wall of clouds, and on some days the sun never rose.

Each morning, Red Pearl reported to the main cargo bay to be assigned to a work shift, standing rigidly shoulder-to-shoulder with the other defective pearls as the day’s labor was parceled out.

There was only a handful of Quartz guards now, she realized, and some Agate crew-bosses. They would walk up and down, up and down the line; their attention seizing on the first pearl foolish enough to make eye contact. Sometimes, the process took hours.

Another hazard, more of the danger that made up the background drone of a pearl’s life—

But that wasn’t what Red Pearl thought about every morning while she held herself perfectly still. When she had gone ... _into storage_ ... there had been only a hundred pearls on Zhema, perhaps a touch more or less. Now? Now she saw at least a _thousand_ , and more every week.

Sometimes, the night was so cold and the day’s haul of coal so meager that whole sections of the outpost would shut down for want of heat. At night, a few hundred pearls returned to their underground berthing to await a hint of sunlight that made it safe to work.

Some of them were even learning how to sleep. Red Pearl never slept.

For the first few weeks, all she could do was _stare_ —

There were a hundred faces like hers wherever she looked.

And to her, all of them were beautiful. _How could they be otherwise?_

But few, very few indeed, ever looked back, and none of them smiled.

Sometimes she was chosen to mop the halls, other times to work the mines. Each job was simple enough: One tool, one process over and over. The mines were dangerous, she knew, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. _If I get shattered_ , she thought, _it’s my own fault_.

Some of the rest weren’t so lucky.

She was still in her first month when a lustrous little mocha-colored pearl was pulled out of line for – what was it? Sniffling, maybe. Some kind of _noise_. Mocha was the most beautiful Gem Red had ever laid eyes on; she thought they would shatter the troublemaker then and there.

Red was transfixed, gaze darting from the sneer on Agate’s face to the terror on Mocha’s.

The Agate waited a long moment before raising her destabilizer—

And then pointing with it: “No. Over there with the mine crew. Go.”

For anyone else, any other time, it would’ve been a mercy. Red felt her heart fill with gratitude.

The mocha pearl took one look at the crew, looked back at Agate, and started to _scream_.

“Box her up,” the Agate told her guards, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration.

The two Quartzes – _Sixer and Nines_ , Red couldn’t help but remember – grabbed the mocha pearl by the arms and dragged her onward, just as they had before. A crate lay open in the corner of the room; when they were near enough, they threw her in.

Red felt relief – a different kind, this time – when the sobs told her Mocha hadn’t lost her form.

Sometimes, the crates were the only way to get anywhere without freezing to death on the way. There were insulated trucks like the one Red had rode in and larger ones besides; there were automated carts that ran on a track according to a precise schedule, too.

But no matter how precise, sometimes the snow would pile high and everything had to stop.

Red imagined them waiting for hours in the dark, avoiding each other’s eyes, with one sobbing.

That night, she tried to sleep for the first time.

But sleep wouldn’t come, and it was dawn all too soon.

The next morning – to her surprise – she was assigned to the commissary.

***

“Grey Pearl, hospitality level five, clearance code: 7-1-3.”

_Compliance_.

There was a quiet _wish_ as the pneumatic lock on the refrigeration unit hissed open. Grey bent over to pry it open and retrieve something from inside: A pair of aluminum canisters that were still streaming blue-white when she set one on the bar in front of Red.

“Try some of that,” Grey said with a wave toward it.

“Yes, ma’am,” Red answered, flinching only slightly when she popped the top and it spat at her. She sat there a while, feeling the cold in her palms. There was nothing on the container to indicate its contents, just a series of indecipherable colored lines.

Grey had asked her – _asked, not told_ – to ask more questions.

So, she decided to try one now: “What is it?”

“Root beer,” said Grey, pulling down a set of mugs from the cabinet. “It’s ... an Earth beverage.”

_We’re not supposed to_ , Red wanted to say.

She actually said: “I thought only bad things come from Earth.”

Grey was wiping down the inside of the mugs, her gaze down.

“That’s what they want you to think,” she muttered.

Red’s expression could have gone in the encyclopedia: _Confused pearl_.

“Don’t sweat it, kid,” said Grey, and waited patiently while Red decoded the Earth slang.

(It had taken a whole afternoon to explain to her the concept of _piss_ : To be _pissed_ , to piss _off_ , to piss _on_ , and all the other ways you could use this versatile term that a proper pearl never would. When it was all over, Red felt like she understood the Quartz soldiers a tiny bit better.)

Grey cleared her throat delicately to get Red’s attention again. Then:

“Say, did you get around to doing what I asked you about before?”

“Yes, ma’am. Class _two_ digestive tract,” she said. “All shifted in.”

“Lovely,” went Grey Pearl. She beckoned Red closer, took the canister away, and started to pour: First one mug, then the other. “It usually takes a full regeneration to pull that off the first time. Pretty neat work, kid. You’ve got a talent.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” said Red, beaming with pride.

Red Pearl’s _class two digestive tract_ took that cue to grumble.

“Oh, oh my! I-I’m so sorry, boss—”

Grey set down a frothy mug in front of her companion.

“Don’t worry about it. That’s just how _organic_ _life forms_ are.”

“It’s gross,” Red pointed out earnestly.

“Hear, hear,” said Grey. She hoisted her own mug in one hand. “Cheers!”

Red knew _that_ word. She had heard it often enough around Azurite’s table to know it meant now was time to “drink up.” She poured the contents of the mug down her throat all at once, starting right away to sputter and choke. Eyes watering, she didn’t see Grey reach towards her—

“Eugh,” said Red, and Grey straightened up. “This is disgusting, ma’am.”

“Stick with me, kid,” Grey told her. “You’ll see the charm in it someday.”

Red Pearl couldn’t conceive of how that could be a good thing.

_But boss had said it, and boss was always right_.

“Yes, ma’am,” she answered, licking foam from her lips.

The commissary was meant only for visitors – dignitaries from the Diamond Courts and personal guests of the proconsul – but hours of enforced downtime had made it popular enough among the outpost’s other Gems, too. If Emerald cared about the indiscipline, no one ever mentioned it.

Between shifts, groups of Agates or Quartzes would turn up, never at the same time. Red Pearl could feel their gazes boring into her wherever she went, but it felt _good_ and _right_ to serve again. She started out in the proper posture for it, too: On one knee with the tray held far above her.

The _third_ time Nines dumped a drink all over her, Grey Pearl corrected her.

“To the table, smile, get the order, come to me. No fancy stuff, kid. Got it?”

_But how will they know I’m doing it properly?_ Red Pearl wanted to say.

She actually said: “Yes, ma’am. I ... got it.”

“Good,” said Grey, and gave her a distracted pat on the head. “There’s a good pearl.”

That made it feel better—

For a little while, anyway.

***

One day a few weeks later, the storms were so heavy even the Quartzes couldn’t do their rounds. Two dozen were in the commissary all morning long and the other dozen were lined up outside. They wanted to be in, out, and gone before the Agates left their briefing with Emerald.

It all began with a casual comment tossed Red’s way: _Same trash, different pile_.

And it only got worse—

They started running out of things – then running out of _everything_.

_Hey, you!_

Grey had told her these Quartzes couldn’t shatter her; had told her they had to follow the order of the numbers on their ticket or else they’d be disciplined; had even told her that if she worked at it long and hard, she could learn to ignore them when they shouted for her out of turn.

Grey had told her all of that – _and boss is always right_ – but that didn’t make it easier.

When she heard that voice, Red froze; and only turning _toward_ it make her form obey.

“Yes-ma’am-thank-you-ma’am-how-may-I-serve-you-ma’am?”

“What’s taking so long, you clod? I’ve been waiting for _hours_.”

Red knew Nines on sight by now, and was sure she had _not_ been waiting for hours.

(She _was_ sure, wasn’t she?)

_I’m-so-sorry-ma’am-it’s-such-an-honor-to-serve-you_ , Red wanted to say.

Instead, she said: “I’m sorry, ma’am, but the others were ahead of you—”

That’s as far as she got before Nines grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her closer.

“I’m getting bored, pearl – and when I get bored, I get smashy, do you read me?”

Red made an uncertain _yuh_ in the back of her throat.

“It’s you—” Nines turned to her companion. “Sixer, this is that busted, creaky pearl.”

“I’d recognize that ugly nose anywhere,” Sixer confirmed, her teeth bared.

“You need to keep us entertained,” said Nines. “Sing for us like last time. Do it now!”

Red’s attention splintered, split between those teeth – the threat _before_ her – and the growing rumble of the taproom – the threat _behind_ her. If she didn’t get away, the others would be all the more angry at her once she finally did. It dawned on her with mounting horror—

One way or another, she had to disobey _someone_.

_Please-don’t-be-mad-at-me please-please-please_ —

Red Pearl opened her mouth to say something—

The thought of having to sing again made her new organs clench.

She let out a ghastly belch, enough to want to melt with shame.

“I think this nasty little pearl is gonna spew on us,” Nines said—

The tone was more _curious_ than anything else. Nines let her go, but she found her feet wouldn’t move; she stood rooted to the spot, tears welling up as everything seemed to betray her at once. She took a deep breath to start singing, but only hiccuped again and again.

“Pardon me, esteemed ones,” said Grey Pearl, putting a hand on Red’s shoulder—

And easing into the space between her and the table, shielding her from Nines.

Red didn’t hear any of the conversation between Grey and the Quartzes, couldn’t hear _anything_ over the treacherous noise of her own form and the thunder of the room around her. She was afraid to go, afraid to stay, afraid to move at all.

Grey Pearl turned to her.

“Are you listening to me, pet?”

_Yes, ma’am_ , Red wanted to say, but she could only say it with her eyes.

“Go into the back room and count the entire stock. Then, organize the bottles by size and color.”

Red Pearl couldn’t speak. She nodded instead.

She didn’t feel herself gliding through the room, didn’t see anything but the stock room door, didn’t think one single thought. When the door yielded to her touch without Grey’s help, she was surprised. When she saw hundreds upon hundreds of bottles in the room, she was relieved.

She didn’t cry at all. She just blinked her eyes and went back to work.

_Everything’s easier when you just obey_ , she told herself.

_There are worse things than the Diamonds in space_ , came the refrain.

She started to count.

***

Counting was easy. _Simple and useful_ , just like everything should be.

( _Was_ it useful? Boss seemed to think it was, and _boss was always_ ...)

It only took a few minutes to count the stock – seven hundred and eighty-three bottles, minus six empties shoved in back. Grey hadn’t told her to get rid of the empties, though she was sure— _almost_ sure—fairly sure, anyway—that that’s what she would normally be expected to do.

Indecision gripped her—

She hadn’t been told, so she did nothing.

Next: Size. That one was easy, too, but it took longer. Some of the bottles were the same _height_ but had a different _width_ ; others had a similar _width_ but had different carvings, enough to change the volume by a few degrees. Soon enough, though, she was sure—

Almost sure—

She had done as told.

And then: Color.

Color was easy. After all, what good was a pearl who didn’t know what colors _went_ with herself, what palette would be most pleasing in one setting or another? People whispered that _some_ Gems hardly had color vision at all, but that would mean pearls were _better_ than real Gems—

And that was impossible.

Grey didn’t tell her _how_ to sort the colors, but this was an easier puzzle to work out. She could _only_ have meant she wanted them to be harmonious and beautiful, and any pearl who couldn’t do that was hardly worth being called a pearl. This took a little longer _still_ —

But she didn’t stop until she was sure, perfectly sure, as sure as she could be.

_Done_.

The low murmur from the commissary had faded from Red’s mind, but she knew it was just as crowded as it had been before, if not worse. Only the ironclad certainty that she was _doing as told_ sheltered her from the utter disgrace of leaving Grey alone.

She forced a silent smile on her face – _vacuous_ , Azurite used to say – and stepped outside.

The first thing her eyes fixed on: Nines and Sixer standing at the bar. Grey had settled behind it again and was talking to them, eyes downcast as she worked ceaselessly to clean more glasses. Whatever she was saying, she only looked up when the stock room door swung open.

Red met her eye—

In an instant, Grey’s expression changed.

It was the same one she’d only seen a flash of before: Drawn and ashen, there and gone.

It suddenly occurred to Red that maybe she had never stopped crying; maybe she’d gone on crying all throughout her work in the stock room. She drifted closer, eyes downcast, wanting only to _serve_ and _be useful_ and – most of all – not to hurt Grey any more.

Now, she could hear what was being said:

“—sorry, but we only _get_ the drink shipments when the proconsul sends for them,” Grey was telling the Quartzes. Her voice was polite but firm, stronger than Red could imagine being. “With no access to Earth, production of this kind of ... luxury item ... is very complicated.”

“Too complicated for useless pearls,” said Nines, and shot Red a dark look that made her squirm.

From the corner of the bar, Red saw something come over her friend she’d never seen before. Grey’s mouth took on a wicked curve and she looked at the Quartz who’d spoken dead-on. In all her life, Red had never seen a pearl face _anyone_ that way.

_The sight sent a shiver of dread down her spine_.

“It would be easier if we could send out for it from Earth,” Grey said. “Maybe your comrades will get around to that when they’re done growing strawberries with all the other fertilizer.”

Red recoiled from Nines when the Quartz stood and slammed her huge hands onto the bar. The soldier towered over Grey, who kept right on polishing glasses without missing a beat.

“What did you say to me?” Nines said, spitting each word.

Grey Pearl glanced up. Slowly.

“Did I glitch?”

“Boss, pl—”

“Quiet, kid,” Grey said without even looking her way. Eyes fixed on the Quartz – without actually stretching her neck – she went on talking while cleaning all the while. “We’re way over our quota in here, and your superiors will be down shortly. If you don’t stop _sucking_ , we won’t have anything left to serve them. And that wouldn’t be any good for you, would it?”

Nines pounded the bar with her fist and its mica surface split with a web of a thousand cracks.

“I piss on your quotas, you talking vend-o-mat,” Nines roared. “Fetch me my drink. Now!”

“Can’t you count? You’ve had _three_ now,” said Grey Pearl. “Wait your _turn_ , sand for brains.”

Red Pearl slipped backwards and hit the wall behind her with a _thud_. It felt like the ground had opened to swallow her whole. Her legs wouldn’t stop shaking, and when she tried to hold herself still, breath poured out of her in jagged clumps. Every inch of her was electric with fear.

Other Quartzes had started to drift in closer and crowd the bar.

_At least no one’s looking at me_ , Red thought, and tears of shame sprung to her eyes.

Everyone was watching Nines now—

“Get me your boss, then,” Nines said. _Trying_ , it seemed, to control her temper.

“I think you’ll find if you check the roster, _I’m_ the supervisor in here. Or can’t you read either?”

The Quartz let out a hiss like steam seething out of the earth. Something had been unleashed.

“You’ve got a pretty big mouth for such a tiny pearl,” she said.

Grey Pearl put her own hands on the bar to push herself just that little bit closer—

“ _You’ve_ got a pretty big mouth for the ugliest misshapen lump of Quartz at my bar.”

Sixer leaned in with wide-eyed urgency: “Nines, that’s _Hematite’s_ pearl!”

Nines glanced to the side.

“Really?”

Sixer nodded fervently.

Nines hesitated for the space of two breaths. Then: “Hematite’s gone. Am I right?”

“Yeah, but—”

“So the only thing different about _this_ pearl is the extra loud _crack_ she’s gonna make.”

The Quartzes all erupted at once, shouting and screaming the most horrible things—

Only Red was close enough to hear Grey answer: _You better not miss, you clod_.

The gem on Nines’ midsection began to glow; the silhouette of something big and devilishly sharp was forming. As she balled one massive fist around whatever it was, Red Pearl winched her eyes closed as tight as she could. Fear was ebbing away into numbness—

She knew she couldn’t run. In a few seconds, she’d be frozen fast to the spot.

_She’d always had the very best freeze reflex of any pearl in her entire batch_.

There was a loud _slam!_

Red let out a strangled cry—

Then: A too-familiar crackle and the sickly smell of ozone.

_A destabilizer activating_.

“What. Is. Going on in here? Is— _this_ —how you greet your new leader?”

It took every bit of strength Red Pearl had just to pry her eyes open.

“Proconsul Emerald,” one of the Quartzes blurted. “SA-LUTE!”

“Oh, g—”

Whatever Emerald was _going_ to say was drowned out as every Quartz in the bar turned her way and snapped the Diamond salute. Even _Nines_ , whose cheek had somehow struck the bar in the intervening seconds, leapt to attention. Red Pearl dropped to one knee, head bowed—

From the corner of her eye, she saw Grey doing the same. _She’s never done that before_.

The thought was disturbing, but Red couldn’t put words to why.

A crowd of Agates stood at the door; the two nearest the bar had their destabilizers out and sizzling into the open air. Just behind that knot of tall forms was someone Red had never seen before: A pale green Gem with a wild shock of spiky hair.

The Agates stepped aside to let her pass—

She paced slowly into the center of the room, her scabbard jostling back and forth as she went. When she was sure all eyes were on her, she drew from it an enormous, ornate saber. Not a Gem weapon: It had clearly been hand-crafted for meritorious service or looted as a war trophy.

“So, I’ll ask again,” she said, leaning almost casually on the pommel.

There was a long half-silence as everyone waited—

“What. Is going on here? You, with the busted face: Out with it.”

“Beggin’ your pardon, proconsul—”

“Consider me begged,” Emerald said, waving it off. “Faster, Quartz.”

“This – _these_ pearls – they refused to follow our orders!”

Emerald blew a little sigh across her razor-sharp teeth.

She _slowly_ started to amble along toward the bar.

“Really. Is that so?”

“Yes, proconsul! I-I swear it—”

“Don’t swear at me, clod,” Emerald said idly. She stopped first in front of Grey, nodded slightly, and went: “Hmm.” Then she stepped over to Red, nodded once more, and went: “Mmhm.”

Red Pearl had only long enough to let her eyes dart up for a half-second—

_Seeing nothing so clearly as that sword just a few inches from her face_.

“Well ...” Emerald said at last. “I don’t keep pearls, myself. But, honestly—”

She turned in a slow circle, giving her onlookers a sly, fanged smirk.

“Yes, proconsul?” one of the Agates dared to ask.

“These pearls don’t look like they have a single thought in their heads between them. If you don’t know how to operate a vend-o-mat, maybe you should go back to Kindergarten, Quartz.”

Nines let out a startled gasp—

_It sounded like she might lose her form right there on the spot_.

Some of the others – the Agates, mostly – gave little show-chuckles.

Red looked sideways at Grey, but couldn’t tell what she was thinking.

“That one _threatened_ me!” Nines said, pointing a big finger at Grey.

Emerald straightened up a bit and turned full toward Nines.

“Excuse me?”

“She said I’d _better not miss!_ I heard her say it.”

Not even Nines’ own comrades answered her desperate look.

The proconsul considered for a moment—

“And then your _face_ struck the bar in shock, I take it?”

“No, ma’am, I—”

“Shut up,” Emerald hissed, sliding in face-to-face with Nines. The Quartz was bigger, but it didn’t seem to matter: Her _bow_ was turning into more of a _crouch_ with each passing second. “Soldier, make sure this resonates with you: Are you _really_ telling me a pearl threatened you?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Emerald squinted her one eye into Nines’ face.

“Did you fall and crack your gem, you clod?”

“No, ma’am!”

“I thought I made myself clear,” said Emerald, easing away from Nines to return to the center of the room. “There’s NOT to be any shattering without orders from me. To believe your preposterous story, I _first_ have to believe that YOU threatened these two fine furnishings.”

Emerald stretched up to full height and took up her sword in something like a golf swing.

“ _Did_ you do that, Quartz?”

“No, ma’am!”

“Let’s find out, shall we?”

Emerald rounded on the pearls again, indicating Grey with the point of her saber.

“All right, bar stool, what in stars happened here? No _extraneous_ details.”

Grey raised her face a few degrees to speak.

“My subordinate and I were merely _striving_ to provide the quick and courteous service Your Luminance no doubt expects from her humble servants. This brave Quartz took it upon herself to imbibe _seven units_ , nearly three times the quota—”

“That’s a lie!” Nines made to push closer, but Sixer put a restraining hand on her arm.

“Huh ...” Emerald stepped back again, taking a test swing of her sword through the air.

Red let out a squeak that thundered in her ears, but Emerald didn’t even look down.

“On second thought, I don’t like this pearl,” Emerald announced. “This one’s old and bitter.” Red watched the proconsul’s boots creep closer to her; felt the shadow fall over her like the darkness of space itself. She was shaking, struggling to hold the proper posture—

“Yes, proconsul,” Nines hissed with satisfaction.

“Shut up,” Emerald said again, without any force or malice this time. “No ... I like _this_ one.”

A sudden shot of glee displaced the creeping terror inside Red Pearl. _The proconsul likes me!_

“This one looks too young and stupid to lie to me. I like that _very_ much. Kind of gaudy, though.”

“Yes-proconsul-I’m-so-sorry-proconsul,” went Red Pearl, her world fading dull in an instant.

Grey shot her a concerned look, but she didn’t even notice.

Emerald bent down so she was eye to eye with Red Pearl.

_With the sword in her hands, she looks so distinguished_ , Red thought. _Even on a knee like that_.

“Little one,” said Emerald, “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“No-proconsul-thank-you-so- _very_ -much-proconsul.”

“So ... just tell me what happened.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Red could see Grey Pearl – forehead to the floor, stiff as could be.

Was she frozen with fear, too?

“I’m waiting,” said Emerald.

_No_ , Red thought. _Boss would never freeze up like me. Boss is brave and smart and always right_.

She faced Emerald and tried to speak ... but all that came out was an awkward little squawk.

“Say again?” said Emerald – smiling wider now, showing more of her fangs than ever before.

She’d been numb through and through, but now Red Pearl realized she was trembling all over. Heaving breaths wheezed out of her as her mind spun, one thought beating a deafening cadence deep within her: _Can’t-disobey-can’t-disobey-can’t-disobey-won’t-won’t-won’t_ —

And then something else eclipsed all of it:

_There are worse things than the Diamonds in space_.

Something changed.

Something ...

Red understood, with crystal clarity, exactly what they all thought of her.

Then she spoke:

“Yes, ma’am,” said Red Pearl as firmly as her little voice would let her. “We were serving them as properly as we could, ma’am, and that one drew her weapon on us. None of the others were involved, ma’am.” She peeked at those other, staring Quartzes around Emerald’s side. “They didn’t do anything.” Tears shone in her eyes when she looked up. “Please don’t hurt them?”

Her shy smile never moved, but everything inside of her was _burning_.

Words could _hurt_ —

“Huh ...”

Emerald rose to her feet, then grabbed Red by the wrist and dragged her up, too.

As the proconsul strode up to Nines, Red did everything she could to hang back.

The Quartz was just feet away; Emerald’s saber, as close as her opposite hand.

_Either one could mean death in a_ _fraction of a second_.

Emerald tilted her head to look Nines in the face again—

“What is your _major malfunction_ , soldier?” she snarled.

The Quartz looked like she’d been hit by a barn.

“I only planned to rough ‘em up a bit, ma’am!”

“Really, you pebble? Is that _so_ , you great, chalky _clod?_ ” Emerald stood fast with her weapon against her hip, using her other arm to _shake Red Pearl_ for emphasis. “I suppose you thought you could let up once they’d learned their lesson? Do you know how easy it is to crack a pearl?”

“No, ma’am!”

“I’M PROBABLY DOING IT RIGHT NOW!” Emerald roared.

With that, she shoved Red Pearl to the floor with her palm.

_Grey was by her side in a flash, helping her up_.

“Pearls aren’t like _real_ Gems. If you hit one, you don’t know if it’s gonna shatter or not. And if they don’t follow your orders, it’s your fault for being so stupid they can’t understand you.” With one swift move, Emerald leveled the point of her sword on Nines’ midsection.

“I’m so sorry, proconsul,” Nines whined.

_Despite herself, Red smiled into Grey’s shoulder_.

Emerald was still talking—

“Yellow Diamond sent me here to _dig up coal_ and _collect meteorites_. Unruly Quartz soldiers provide me with neither.” Emerald drew her saber back and let it _hiss_ softly into the scabbard. Without a backward glance to Nines, she vaulted over the bar with one hand.

Grabbing the first bottle that looked a little like herself, she bit the cork off with her fangs—

Then took a big gulp.

“Quartz, you’re much stronger than these pearls. Don’t you think you should be ... useful?”

“Yes, proconsul,” Nines answered miserably.

“This month, _you’ll_ dig out the roads. Doing the work of _ten_ pearls should be no problem.”

“No, proconsul.”

“Don’t let me see you in here again until every road on Zhema is fully operational. I don’t expect you to freeze ...” She pondered it. “But _if_ you’re that stupid, it’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.”

“Yes, proconsul,” Nines answered, and turned to leave—

“You have any kindergarten-mates at this post, Quartz?”

Nines looked to Sixer before either could think twice—

“ _Yes_ ,” Emerald said without further prompting. “She’s out, too.”

“Yes, ma’am,” they both responded in unison. “Thank _you_ , ma’am.”

Emerald was busily unloading half the liquor cabinet onto the bar when she added: “Pearls?”

“Yes, Your Luminance?” Grey Pearl said smoothly.

“I need to hold a staff meeting in here, and you’re not staff. Get lost!”

“Your Luminance?” Grey questioned.

The proconsul had both arms full of bottles when she looked over.

“I don’t care _where_ you go. Just ... go ... go clean something!”

“ _Clean something_ ,” Grey echoed with relish. “At your wise and gracious command, proconsul.”

There was a ripple of discontent among the Agates. A few stood aside to reveal one of their number, who slunk back nervously when she realized everyone was now looking at _her_. With no alternative, she ventured: “But, uhn ... who’s going to mix our drinks?”

“I’ll do it,” said Emerald as she let her haul down onto the bar. “It’s easy.”

“ _You_ , proconsul? But—”

Emerald narrowed her one eye. “Are _you_ having a problem, too?”

“No, proconsul!”

“Good.” She turned to the pearls. “Why are you two standing around like hat racks? Go!”

“As you wish, proconsul,” said Grey. Meeting Red’s eye, she said: “Let’s go clean some things.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Red Pearl chirped.

They were no sooner out the door than Grey leaned close to her ear:

_I’ve got something to show you_.

Red Pearl stepped back, looking at her in wide-eyed amazement.

“You already _have_ shown me something,” she said.

A smile crept onto the elder’s face—

A smile warmer and brighter than any dawn Zhema had seen yet.

**Author's Note:**

> To all the Pearls living in this world, keep hope alive! There will be more soon ...


End file.
